Complications
by supercode
Summary: Sequel to "Ruminations and Consequences". Even though Chloe and Clark finally got together, they quickly found that their relationship was not without its problems. And now that Jor-El is trying to control Clark's destiny and drive him away from Smallville, their new relationship is about to be tested. Will Clark and Chloe get out with their love...and lives, intact?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Smallville or any of its characters or storylines, only this story is my original creation. Smallville and any related properties are owned by their respective owners.**

**Author's note: This is the sequel to my story "Ruminations and Consequences", so if you haven't, I suggest you read that fic first.**

After it happened, after everything went to hell, Chloe Sullivan would admit to herself that she really should have seen it coming. Her and Clark's relationship had never been a very stable one, after all. But she had wanted that relationship to work so badly that she had turned a blind eye to a lot of factors that should have led her to one very simple conclusion: In practical terms, her and Clark's relationship didn't make any sense, and had actually seemed to cause both of them more problems than it solved.

The first set of problems that the relationship had caused them had to do with their friendships with Lana and Pete. Although Chloe and Clark had, at Chloe's insistence, been upfront about their relationship with Lana and told her what had happened the day after they got together, the raven haired girl still had some trouble adjusting to this relational shift. Lana didn't appear to hold a grudge against either member of the couple. Even so, it had taken several days after the announcement for her to become comfortable enough with the situation to start talking with Chloe again, and several weeks before the two roommates had started acting like friends again. And even to this day, Lana still barely talked to Clark, meaning she would talk to him when he got coffee at the Talon or during her, Chloe, Clark's and Pete's regular study sessions. And Lana had only started going to those again after her grades in math started to slip. There was a reason that everyone else in that group went to Clark for help with their math homework, after all. It was widely known that Clark was one of the best students in his grade, and math was one of his best subjects. Surprisingly, the relationship between Chloe and Pete had also become somewhat cool lately. And it wasn't just because she was still upset that Pete had never let her in on Clark's secret, or that she occasionally tried to trip the Ross boy up with her words and make him accidently spill said secret. No, the blond junior reporter was sure that there was more to it than that. All Chloe knew was, after she had told Pete that she and Clark had become an item, Pete had been giving her a lot more space than usual, had seemed much more tense in her presence, and the boy hadn't been smiling or laughing as often as he used to. But Chloe had no idea why that was, and every time she asked Pete about it, he would insist that nothing was wrong, and that he was really happy that his two best friends had finally gotten together.

But Pete and Lana were just the tip of the iceberg. The biggest problem with Clark and Chloe's relationship was the fact that, even though they had been dating for months, Clark was still keeping his secret from Chloe. This fact effected just about every other aspect of the relationship. For example, Clark would still disappear, with alarming frequency, without giving Chloe any explanation whatsoever, aside from a brief head nod or an "I have to go." When Chloe would ask about where he went, Clark would just reply something to the effect of "I don't want to lie to you, but I really can't talk about it."

Chloe had tried to take some comfort in the fact that at least Clark wasn't lying to her about where he was going anymore. But Chloe's reporter brain couldn't just let Clark's secret go, especially since, the closer she and Clark become, the more the blond teen started to realize just how weird Clark's life was. It had started out with little things. Like that one time, several weeks after she and Clark had started dating, that Chloe let her boyfriend get to second base with her in his loft. Everything had been great as first, and Chloe could tell that Clark was really enjoying himself, and then something strange happened. Just for a second, so quick that Chloe could almost believe she had imagined it, Clark's eyes had glowed. And then the farm boy had quickly shut his eyes, said something like "not now!" under his breath, and had yanked away his hands from his girlfriend's chest so quickly one would have thought that Chloe's breasts had been on fire. For the next several seconds after that, Clark had kept his eyes closed, took several deep breaths, and ignored his concerned girlfriend's questions about what was wrong as Chloe put her shirt back on. After Clark had calmed down, he had made no comment on what had happened, but had suggested that he and Chloe should go do something else. So the two of them had gone to a movie instead. Apart from the fact that Chloe had still wondered what had just happened (but now knew better than to ask again) and that Clark had still seemed a little nervous, they had enjoyed the rest of the evening. But Clark had never tried to do anything more than making out with his girlfriend after that. Although Chloe had not forced the issue, she had mentally added another item to her mental list of "Weird things about Clark Kent." This list, which was growing almost daily and included highlights such as the number of Clark's unexplained disappearances, his almost omni-present ability to be at the right place and time to save people's lives, the boy's obsession with the Kawatche caves, the symbols that had appeared on his family's barn, and of course, Clark's mysterious secret, which, Chloe now realized, was actually the Kent **family** secret.

Clark had told Chloe when their relationship begun that he could not tell her what his secret was because it was a family secret, but she had not realized just how much pressure the Kents had put on Clark to keep that secret, whatever it was, from everyone, including her. Therefore, during the first two weeks or so of her relationship with the farm boy, Chloe had tried to convince Clark, in various subtle and not-so subtle ways, that he should tell her what his secret was. And Clark had kept insisting that he really wanted to tell her, but couldn't. The reporter hadn't really realized what Clark meant until one night she dropped by the Kent farm to surprise Clark before their date that night. Chloe knew that, if she had not decided to pick Clark up early that night, instead of letting Clark pick her up in his truck 30 minutes later, she probably would never have heard the tail-end of a heated argument between Clark and his parents. Although the blonde teen had only been able to hear a little bit from her position outside of the Kent's front door, she got the gist of what the argument was about. Clark wanted to tell Chloe his secret, the Kents weren't sure it was a good idea and Jonathon thought he should wait a little longer before telling his secret to make sure she could be trusted. Clark had loudly yelled that he trusted his girlfriend and that she wouldn't tell anyone else his secret, even if she was a reporter. Martha had said that was probably true, but that Chloe might feel differently about Clark if she knew what his secret was (a suggestion which Chloe had, quite frankly, found insulting) and that she wasn't sure that it was fair to burden Chloe with the secret. Clark had been quite for almost a minute after that, before he had declared, in a frustrated tone that Chloe could only just make out: "I'm just tired of keeping secrets from my girlfriend!" And then, as Chloe had heard the sound of Clark's footsteps coming towards the door, she had dashed out to her car and waited for him there. When Clark walked out the front door, he was frowning, but as soon as he had seen Chloe was already there, he quickly put a big smile on his face (which Chloe noted he was eerily good at faking). After that day, Chloe stopped trying to pressure Clark into telling her his secret. However, the junior reporter had made a point to carefully study all of the actions and mannerisms of the entire Kent family from then on. So, of course, Chloe felt she could no longer trust Jonathon or Martha Kent as much as she used to.

To his credit, Clark had always done his best to smooth over all of the problems that his relationship with Chloe caused both of them. He tried to remain on at least civil terms with Lana and speak to her whenever he went to the Talon for coffee or during one their study sessions, he still made time with Pete, and most importantly (in Chloe's mind any way) he treated Chloe like a queen. The boy was always opening doors for her, getting her chair for her, trying to pick up the check when they went out for a meal, etc. Chloe, of course, tried to pretend she found Clark's chivalrous mannerisms annoying and archaic (she still considered herself a city girl, after all), but she secretly rather enjoyed it. For the first time since she had meet Clark, he was pursuing her, not the other way around. And he was looking at her, Chloe Sullivan, the way he used to look at Lana Lang. So Chloe had turned a blind eye to all of the problems in her relationship with Clark for over a month. But finally, after six weeks, Chloe had decided that perhaps the relationship was more trouble than it was worth, and she had decided to do what she usually did when she got scared about a Clark related matter. She resolved to pull away from Clark and end the relationship.

But then Martha Kent had gotten sick with some mysterious bug that had been found in the soil on the Kent family property. Really sick. So Chloe had decided to postpone breaking up with Clark until that situation was over. Then Clark had gotten sick too, so sick that he had become unconscious for several days. During that entire time, Chloe had been utterly terrified that Clark would die, and she had come to the Kent farm house every day before and after school to see how Clark was doing. On her final couch-side visit to see her boyfriend, just hours before he had woken up, she had talked to Clark, telling him how weird things were at school without him, telling him that she loved him and begging him to wake up. And Clark had said her name. Not Lana's name, or Kyla's, or anyone else's, just hers. Of course, Clark had recovered shortly after that event, and his mom made a miraculous recovery as well. Clark's illness had a more lasting impact on Chloe's psyche, however, as coming so close to losing Clark had made her realize just how much she needed him in her life, and that, perhaps, Clark needed her too. So, against her better judgment, Chloe had decided not to break up with Clark, even though she knew her relationship with him had a lot of problems.

Still, Chloe really should have seen it coming. But she was still floored by the experience on the day that Clark drastically changed her life once again. She never saw it coming when Clark left Smallville on the day of Lex's wedding.

**Author's note: Well, that's just the prologue, but as I'm sure many of you can see, this story is going to be much more angsty and a little darker than Ruminations and Consequences, since it sort of my take on an AU version of the storyline's involving Clark's exile from Smallville at the end of season 2 and beginning of Season 3. Because of the events of my last story, however, things are going to go very differently this time….**

**Please review and tell me what you think of my story so far! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: For the sake of simplicity, all author's notes will only appear at the end of chapters in every chapter after this one.**

Lex's wedding day…

Clark quickly dashed to the Torch office, only slowing down to human speed once he reached the office of the school paper that he, his best friend, and his girlfriend had spent so much time in over the past two years. He barely acknowledged Pete's presence in the office space, as his friend tried to make Clark tell him what was wrong. Clark shut Pete out as he went through the various drawers of his girlfriend's desk, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to reply to his best friend until the African American young man finally asked him what he was looking for, and Clark replied that he was looking for a red kryptonite ring.

Pete shook his head. "That's insane, Clark! You know what that stuff does to you!"

Clark nodded, not really caring about what Pete though about what he was doing. "Yeah. It makes me feel better!" And Clark needed to feel better right now, because right now, he hated himself. He had messed up everything in his attempt to defy what was, more or less, the ghost of his biological father by attempting to blow up his space ship with a kryptonite key. He had blown up his family barn, injured his adoptive parents, and worst of all, he had killed his unborn sibling, Martha Kent's "miracle baby" in the womb, and now it seemed that Jonathon couldn't even look at him without making him feel like some kind of freak…or like the alien that he actually was. So now, Clark felt like he really needed to use that red rock that had caused him so much trouble in the past, and then he needed to run. He wasn't sure where he needed to run to, but Clark had a strong feeling that, despite the fact that he had blown up the space ship that Jor-El had spoken to him through, his biological father was not through trying to control his destiny and turn him into some kind of tyrant. The scar that was still on Clark's chest only solidified this belief in the young alien's mind.

Clark tried to tell himself that, if he just ran away somewhere and stayed away from everyone he had ever loved, Jor-El wouldn't be able to find him, or attempt to control him, anymore, and Chloe, the Kents, and everyone else that Clark had ever loved would be safe. Safe from Jor-El, and safe from him. Clark Kent had learned his lesson about trying to form connections with others, if there was anything that the incident in the storm cellar which had killed his sibling had taught him, it was that nobody was safe around Clark Kent. That was the real reason that the Last Son of Krypton needed to get out of Smallville as fast as possible, he couldn't let anyone else be hurt because of him.

Finally, continuing to ignore Pete's demands to see reason, Clark opened a drawer and fond the rings with the red meteor rocks. The farm boy was just about to grab one before he was interrupted by the voice of the one person he really did not want to see right now. "What the hell, Clark!? Why are you tearing up my office and what happened to you?! Lana told me that she saw you at the Kent farm, standing in the crater where your family's barn once stood rambling on about how it was all your fault, and now your mom is in the hospital! Clark, talk to me! Tell me what's going on!"

Clark refused to make eye-contact with his girlfriend as he looked at the top of her desk like it was the most interesting thing in the world, but he could see Pete quietly leaving the room and his girlfriend half glaring at him, half looking at him sympathetically, through the tops of his eyelids. The farm boy really did not want to face his girlfriend now, when Pete had already made it hard enough for him to leave already. And he especially did not want to expose Chloe to "Red K Clark" again, as it he had almost ruined his relationship with Chloe once, even if he did owe his current relationship to the blond to his amoral alter-ego. Worse still, Clark was not sure he would be able to let Chloe go and leave her behind in Smallville if he saw her while he was in that uninhibited state, even if it was for her own good. Besides, just having Chloe in the room with him made him ashamed for even considering taking the easy way out and putting on the crimson colored ring just so he wouldn't feel so terrible about what he had done. Therefore, Clark reluctantly closed the drawer that held the rings as he decided not to use the red K after all, and finally looked up at his girlfriend. "This isn't your problem Chloe, and you and Lana should be at Lex's wedding. How did you even know to find me here?" Clark remembered how glad he had been, before today's events, that both his girlfriend and his best female friend had been invited to Lex's wedding, Lana as Lex's business associate, and Chloe as his, the best man's, date. Looking at Chloe now, still in her dress for the wedding, just like Lana had been wearing hers when she tried to confront him at the barn (although Clark thought Chloe filled her dress out much better than Lana did hers), Clark wished she was still at the wedding so that she would not have to see the low her boyfriend had sunk to, and so she would be safely far away from him.

Chloe's glare hardened, but Clark could still see the love for him in her eyes, even as his girlfriend yelled at him. "You're my boyfriend and I love you, so if you and your family are in trouble, it automatically becomes my problem, Clark! And I'm not even the only one that is here for you now! Me, Pete, Lana; we've all been looking for you for the past hour, trying to find you and figure out what would could had gone so wrong that it would make Clark Kent skip out on one of his best friend's wedding! And it didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out that you would eventually go back to the farm or to here, so the three of us split up! I just got off the phone with Lana, who said you left the barn's remains five minutes ago, blaming yourself for whatever happened there." Chloe sighed and walked to her boyfriend before putting her arms around his head, not "letting him" turn his gaze from her as she spoke to Clark in much softer voice that gave away her concern for him. "Clark look at me, please." The alien reluctantly did so as her girlfriend continued speaking. "Clark, I don't care how you got from the farm to the Torch so fast. Right now, I'm not even that concerned about what your secret is, especially if it doesn't involve all the weird stuff that has been happening today. Just tell me what happened. Whatever it is, I know we can get through it together!"

And then Chloe saw a look in Clark's eyes that she never though she would see. It was as if all of the life, light, and fire that had been inside Clark's soul had suddenly been snuffed out, only to be replaced with a despondent darkness that chilled Chloe right down to the core of her being. The junior reporter didn't like the look in Clark's eyes one bit as his gaze solidified into a (almost) cold, steely resolve. Although Clark's girlfriend doubted that the farm boy who was so full of life could every truly become a cold-hearted person, the young man's eyes almost made him look like that was exactly what Clark was becoming. And Chloe hated that look in her boyfriend's eyes more than she had ever hated anything before as the farm boy responded to her words. "No. Not this time, Chloe." Chloe's face fell, and then gradually turned itself into a scowl as she heard Clark's words, not understanding why he wouldn't let her help him with whatever he was facing, and extremely frustrated that Clark still wouldn't let her in. Before the blond teen could express her anger or disappointment however, Clark voiced the rest of his thought with a stoic expression and deadpan, detached voice that Chloe was already starting to hate. "I need to go away now, Chloe. I'm sorry, but some things have happened, and it's just not safe for me to stay in Smallville anymore. It's time for me to go." And without another word, Clark started walking out of the torch office and towards the school parking lot where he had placed the motorcycle he had "borrowed" (Clark fully intended to give it back once he could afford his own mode of transportation, since his truck had been destroyed in the barn explosion) from the man he had called "father" for most of his life. Clark did not dare to look at Pete or Chloe as he did so, despite the fact that his best friend and girlfriend had followed him out to the parking lot, entreating him to stay and talk with them about what had happened. The young man with the world on his shoulders was especially afraid to look at Chloe, or show any of the raging emotions of grief, anger, hatred and pain that were tearing his insides apart. Clark was smart enough to know that if he allowed himself to be vulnerable with Chloe now, and told her what was really going on, he would never be able to bring himself to leave Smallville, even if Chloe were inclined to let him go. And Clark knew, without a doubt, that he had to leave now, or Chloe, and everyone else he loved, would pay the price for his refusal to do whatever was necessary to keep them from harm, even if that included leaving Smallville. Once he was standing beside the motorcycle, Clark put on the leather jacket and sunglasses he had kept from his red k "bad boy days" in the recent past, partly to convince himself that he could detach himself from his negative emotions without the red k, and partly because he did not want Chloe to see the tears that his traitorous eyes had started shedding despite the stoic façade that he was wearing. He was afraid he would break down in front of one Miss Sullivan and telling her everything.

Unfortunately, Clark's plan to ride out of Smallville like some hard-hearted, emotionally detached hero from an action movie didn't quite go like he planned, for Chloe Sullivan would have none of it. Clark's girlfriend grabbed onto the farm boy's right arm with such a tight grip that Clark feared he would not be able to dislodge Chloe's petite hand without injuring it as the junior reporter finally lost her cool entirely and began to yell at him. "Oh no you don't! You don't just get to make me fall in love with you, leaving me waiting for you to feel the same for the better part of three years, and then just ride out of my life just as we were starting to have a relationship without even telling me why! I love you Clark Kent, and I deserve better than that! And Pete, and Lana, and especially your parents…they all deserve better than you just up and leaving them! If you ever loved any of us, you won't turn your back on all of us now!" This time, Chloe was able to see some of Clark's tears, as a few of them managed to fall past the part of his stoic-looking face that his sunglasses had concealed, giving the blond teen a little hope that she was getting through to Clark, and that she would be able to convince him to stay and tell her what was wrong. So Chloe kept at it. "Clark, just tell me what's wrong, and I will help you get through it! And if I can't help you myself, than Pete…"

Chloe motioned to her and Clark's mutual friend, who had, up until now, been standing passively by in the parking lot as Chloe had unloaded her verbal tirade against Clark. But now the dark skinned young man nodded and raised his hand up to support Chloe's point. "That's right, Clark! You're my boy, and I'm not going to let this situation…get the best of you. Let Chloe and I help you out here, man!" Clark mentally rolled his eyes at Pete's awkward and cheesy attempt to cheer him up, but he appreciated the sentiment, and the fact that Pete had not disclosed what had happened with the space ship to Chloe, despite the fact that his best male friend had said several times that he believed that Chloe could be trusted with the secret of Clark's alien heritage. Clark supposed that didn't matter now. Right at his moment, Clark decided, Chloe was better of not knowing he was an alien.

What did matter was that Chloe still hadn't given up trying to get her boyfriend to stay in Smallville. "Look, Clark, I know you said it wasn't safe for you to stay in Smallville, but all of your friends and family are here! I'm here!" Chloe put her hand to her chest as a few tears escaped from her eyes before she quickly wiped them away, an action which almost made Clark smile. He found it kind of endearing really, the way that Chloe would sometime try to put up a tough front to conceal her emotions so that she didn't appear "weak" in front of other people. But Clark had a pretty good handle on reading Chloe Sullivan's emotions by this point. And the reason that Clark wasn't smiling right now is because he knew that, underneath her anger and concern, his girlfriend was afraid, almost to the point of going into a panic, and it was his own fault. And worse, there was nothing that Clark could do about it without putting Chloe in danger. Clark noticed that Chloe was still able to push past her fear, though, and continue making her point. "Whatever you are afraid of, Clark, whatever is making you feel unsafe in Smallville, there are lots of people here who can help you…"

Clark didn't let Chloe finish voicing that thought, as he finally forced himself to look at Chloe and Pete through the dark lenses of his sunglasses. "That's not what I meant. I meant that it wasn't safe for you if I stayed here! You or anyone else! As long as I stay in Smallville, this whole town could be in danger!" Clark gave Pete a meaningful look. The young African-America man shook his head and tried to voice his disagreement with what had just been said, but Clark knew that Pete knew what he was referring to, while Chloe just looked at Clark with an obvious expression of surprise and confusion as her boyfriend looked right at her and continued speaking over Pete's objections. "That's why I have to leave, Chloe. I don't want to go, but I can't let anyone else I care about suffer or stay here and bring danger into your lives. I love you, Chloe Sullivan. And that's why I have to go! Please don't try to follow me!" To emphasize his point, Clark gently broke his arm away from Chloe's hand, climbed onto his bike and started the engine, momentarily drowning out the objections of his best friend and girlfriend for several seconds.

Chloe made one last, desperate attempt to keep Clark from distancing himself from her yet again by doing something rather rash, as she quickly ran in front of Clark's bike and put one hand on each of the handlebars. "Clark! Please! I need you to stay. Please don't leave!"

Chloe's boyfriend from another planet sighed, wondering why the blond reporter he had fallen in love with had to make leaving even more difficult than it had to be. "I told you, I can't! It's just too dangerous…."

But Chloe Sullivan was still undeterred. "Fine. Then take me with you! You can tell me what's going on the way to wherever we go." Clark tried to open his mouth to object, but his girlfriend never gave him the chance. Clark idly noted as Chloe continue her verbal tirade against him that Pete looked almost as dumbfounded by Chloe's boldness at this moment as he felt himself. "And don't try to tell me again that it's too dangerous, Clark! It's my life, and it's my choice if I want to risk it or not! And my choice is that I want to go with you and help you get out of whatever trouble you're in until we can come back to Smallville! Besides, I know that if I get myself in some situation I can't get out of, you'll just pull of another Kent miracle and save me again anyway!"

Clark sighed again. He appreciated Chloe's unshakeable faith in him, he really did, but right now it was getting in the way of him doing what needed to be done. The young alien shook his head. "I can't protect you from this, Chloe! I can't even protect myself!" Clark touched his chest, feeling the scar under his shirt which served as a reminder that he was still not out from under Jor-El's thumb, or out of the reach of his dead "father's" wrath. "And even if taking you away with me wouldn't worry your dad, Pete and Lana, it would certainly put you at risk! All I know is that if something happened to you…"Clark trailed off, he fought to keep anymore tears from coming out of his eyes before he continued speaking several seconds later. "I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself, and I'm not sure I could live with myself after that." Clark looked meaningfully into his girlfriend's eyes for several seconds while memorizing every last detail of Chloe Sullivan's face before he had to leave her behind forever. "I'm sorry, Chloe, but no matter how much I love you and want to stay here, I have to go. I need to move on, and so does everyone else." Clark looked meaningfully at Pete, then Chloe to let them know this message was for both of them. "I'm sorry. Goodbye." The Clark revved up his engine again and steered carefully around Chloe before picking up speed and pulling out of the parking lot faster than Chloe or Pete could chase him down.

Chloe temporarily broke down, and the young woman sobbed for several seconds while she and Pete watched Clark and his vehicle disappear from their view as he headed towards the setting sun. Not knowing what else to do, Pete gently placed his hand on top of the section of Chloe's dress that covered her right shoulder to comfort his friend and secret crush. "I'm sorry, Chloe. He's gone now, and I don't think that he's going to come back anytime soon." Pete visibly winced, knowing that was exactly the wrong thing to say as soon as the words had left his lips

The contact between Pete's hand and her shoulder, as well as Pete's words, seemed to be all of the jolt that Chloe needed to shake the reporter out of her feelings of sadness and self-pity, and by the time Chloe turned around to face Pete, she had brushed the tears out of her face. Her eyes were still puffy, and her nose was still red, but the expression on Miss Sullivan's face had changed from one of sadness to one of determination. "Well then, if you don't think Clark will come back to Smallville on his own, then I guess I will just have to find him and bring him back myself!" Before Pete could reply to Chloe's words, the young blond was already marching back to the Torch office to see if Clark had left any clues about where he was going. As far as Chloe Sullivan was concerned, Clark had always been there for her, and the farm boy had saved her life more times than she could count. Now it was her turn to find Clark and save him from whatever it was that had terrified her boyfriend so badly...or die trying!

**Author's note: As you can see, things are going to be going a lot differently for this story than they did in the show! I hope you all enjoy the ride.**

**Fair warning, the rest of my story will basically take place in a modified version of the early episodes of Season 3, and I was unable to review the original source material because all of my Season 3 DVDs got scratched to the point of being inoperable during a move. So all segments of my story which are supposed resemble the original season 3 will be done from memory or from consulting Wikipedia. Therefore, this story might go full AU every now and again, but no more than I can help. **

**In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to post, but the loss of my season 3 and some life events have been getting in the way of me writing for this story, so please bear with me. And please review so that I know there is interest in this story, and I know what mistakes to remedy in the future. After all, I may write for myself, but I post my stories for all of you!**

**-supercode**


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe sighed heavily into the drink in front of her, which has remained untouched for the last hour since Lois had ordered it for her, Chloe had tasted it, and the blonde had immediately found the strong beverage tasted revolting to her. She was trying to have a good time for her cousin's sake, she really was. After all, Lois had basically been begging her to go with her on a trip to Metropolis so that she could "have a good time and forget about Clark!" for the last week, ever since the blonde's favorite cousin had come to live with her and Gabe Sullivan for a while, while General Lane was busy overseeing the construction of a new military base near Topeka. At first, Chloe had turned her cousin down, saying that she was too busy to go out clubbing with Lois, but the self-proclaimed "Army brat" would have none of it, and she kept pressuring Chloe to go. Knowing from years of experiences with her favorite cousin how persistent Lois could be when she wanted something (meaning she got her way most of the time), Chloe had eventually given in because she did not want to hear Lois's comments on the matter for the next 3 weeks of her visit to Smallville. And that was how Chloe Sullivan had found herself begrudgingly getting a fake ID (which she made herself, not trusting Lois' source, "the cousin of a friend of a friend", to get the job done right) and going to this club which she hadn't had time to check the name of while Lois had quickly dragged her inside. Chloe really was trying to have fun, because she knew that Lois had only taken her along to this club, which she could have gone to on her own, because she was worried about her due to her constant efforts, which had become an obsession, with finding Clark. Even so, from the sound of Lois' enthusiastic yelling from the dance floor, and the way the brunette was practically grinding against her current dance partner, who had bought the young woman her last 3 drinks, Chloe's cousin was having a lot more fun than she was. The blonde teen still felt miserable, as she had for the past two months since Clark had left to "protect her". That still made her mad!

It wasn't as if Miss Sullivan hadn't had any guys flirt which her since she had arrived at the club, but she hadn't been interested in any of them, since all of them were several years older than her and reeked of alcohol. And besides, the stubborn young woman still hadn't given on finding and getting Clark back yet, despite the fact that most of the resources she needed to do so had been taken from her after she had turned down Lionel Luthor's offer to spy on Clark. When Chloe had responded to that offer by telling the last remaining Luthor (since Lex was missing and presumed dead by most people) exactly which orifice of his body he could shove that deal, Lionel had responded by ransacking her office, taking what little info Chloe had filed away on Clark, and taking back all of the computer equipment he had "so graciously donated" to the Torch, as well as taking back the blonde's position at "The Daily Planet" that he had given her. It was almost bad enough for the blonde reporter to consider crawling back to Lionel and pretending to take him up on his offer so that she could get those resources back and use them to find Clark. Almost. With all of those resources gone, Chloe had been having a rough time finding Clark, who had seemed to have vanished without a trace after the horrible day his family's barn had blown up and Lex had gone missing. And the Kent's hadn't been much help, either, as they were still as closed mouthed as they usually were about matters pertaining to Clark's secret, and had refused to tell Chloe anything except that she needed to "bring Clark home" if she ever found him. As if Chloe hadn't known that already. Chloe felt bad for Jonathon and Martha, she really did. They had just lost their son, and they were on the verge of losing their farm to financial troubles as well. But even so, Chloe was very angry that the annoyingly secretive couple wouldn't give her any info that she might be able to use to make educated guesses about where Clark had gone. So, about 3 weeks ago, Chloe had ended her last unproductive conversation with the Kents by responding to their usual entreaty in a rather blunt fashion. "Oh, I'll find Clark all right, and I'll bring him back to Smallville, because this is his home, but I'm doing it for him, not for you! And when I do find your son, it will be no thanks to you!" Chloe hadn't spoken to the Kents since she had stormed out of the house that day, and Pete, who had been an equally unhelpful information source, had stopped talking to her not long afterward. Chloe knew that her remarks had been petty and mean, and that she should take them back and apologize to the Kents, but every time she thought about the Kents, and how they had refused to help her find their own son, she would become angry again. The blonde teen knew that her feelings for Clark were once again clouding her judgment, as her obsession with tracking any lead, no matter how uncertain or crazy, to find her boyfriend had been making her very irritable and anxious, but she just couldn't help how she felt, or bring herself to give up on finding Clark. The fact that her odds of successfully finding Clark now were about a million to one didn't matter. Besides, Chloe had at least been able to substantially narrow her search once she deduced that Clark must be in Metropolis somewhere.

It hadn't been that hard to figure out really. Clark had always had a knack for saving lives, at least for as long as Chloe had known him, and the blonde reporter had suspected for a while that Clark had powers of one kind or another. Now the junior reporter was almost sure of it. Numbers didn't lie after all, and Chloe was very good at paying attention to numbers, like crime statistics. It had only taken one month after Clark had left Smallville for the small town's crime rate to soar to heights they hadn't been to for two years, a level it had remained at since. Conversely, the nearby city of Metropolis' crime rates had taken an unexpected nose dive which had continued since Clark had left Smallville. That might have just been a coincidence, in and of itself, but the cause of the big city's decline climb rate made the young woman rather doubt it. A mysterious hero, which some reporter at the Daily Planet had nicknamed "the Blur", since he moved too fast to be caught on film properly, had been saving innocents and preventing criminals from executing a variety of crimes for the past two months. And the very first sighting (if you could call seeing a dark colored blur of speed as a "sighting") of the new hero by a woman who had been saved from getting mugged at knife point, had occurred on the exact same day Clark left Smallville. Obviously, Chloe definitely did not see all of that as a coincidence, so she had narrowed her Clark search down to the city of Metropolis. Which only had about 4 million people in it. Just thinking of that large number made Chloe want to scream in frustration. If Clark had wanted to disappear, he had picked an annoyingly good city to do it in, which had only contributed to making Chloe's already hectic life a living hell. Chloe was still determined to find her boyfriend, because she loved Clark dearly, but as of late, she was also mad as hell at him. And when…not if, the junior reporter found the mysterious young man, he would have a LOT of explaining to do!

Chloe removed her hold on her drink, got up from her seat with another sigh, and prepared to go tell Lois she wanted to call it a night early. Being in this crowded place definitely wasn't improving her mood, and the loud music and strobe lights were starting to give her a headache anyway. And that was when she saw him.

The man in the black shirt and jeans that apparently compromised the dress code of the bouncers at this club, who had just started walking towards the back door of the club as if he had just finished his shift, looked a little like death warmed over. The young man had facial hair that he kept scratching as if he wasn't used to having any, a slouched posture, and a tired look about him that suggested he hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep lately. Chloe guessed that under those sunglasses of his, the man's eyes were probably bloodshot. But the ex-Daily Planet girl knew who the man walking out the door was on sight, despite the fact that he was much scruffier looking than she had ever seen him. The man who was about to walk out that door, and out of her life AGAIN, was none other than Clark Kent himself!

It didn't take Chloe longer than half a second to decide that she was NOT going to let that happen. God, or fate, or whatever it was that ran the universe (Chloe was rather open-minded about such things, but didn't subscribe to any particular faith herself) had apparently decided to give her a second chance to bring Clark home, and she wasn't about to waste it! The blonde teen quickly raced towards her cousin on the dance floor while keeping an eye on Clark, who was still making his way through the crowd to the back exit. Once she reached her cousin, who was obviously very inebriated by this point, as she was dancing so close to her dance partner that she was almost grinding her crouch against his leg, Chloe held out her hand. "Lois, I need the keys to your car now!" When Lois had responded by raising her eye brow in a way that clearly meant, "Do you want to run that by me, again?" Chloe quickly added: "Please, this is really important, Lois! I need to go somewhere right now and it can't wait!"

Lois and her newest "Mr. right now" both laughed at the same time, and the other man (who Chloe hadn't bothered to learn the name of, since she knew he would be old news to her cousin after tonight), had to keep Lois from falling to the floor from the force of her laughter. Considering the number of shots Lois had downed since she had arrived here, Chloe was surprised that her cousin had been able to stand, much less dance, this long. The younger cousin shook her head and slurred. "Whyyy shud I leet u dwive. Chlooooeee? I can dwiive u ifff u weally kneeeeed to go somevere."

Now it was Chloe's turn to give her cousin a snarky look. "Really, Lois? I think even you know that you're pretty hosed right now. I'm not judging, but you really shouldn't be driving!" Lois sighed and reluctantly nodded. Apparently, her own slurred words had finally convinced the party girl that she had reached her limit as Chloe continued speaking while shooting a panicked expression at the back door that Clark had almost reached. "Lois, it's about Clark! I think I saw him and I need to follow him to wherever he lives now or I might lose him again, probably forever! Now, I can pay you back for a cab later but…"

Lois, who had apparently sobered up somewhat after hearing Chloe's announcement, quickly got her keys out of her purse and put them in her cousin's hand while the male next to her looked on in confusion and drunken amusement. "What are you waiting for then?! Go get him!" Chloe smiled. This was what she loved about her cousin. Lois could be an irresponsible party animal at times, but she was also one of the most loyal people Chloe had ever known, and she always had her friends' and families backs whenever the chips were down. As the blonde started to make her way through the crowd towards Clark, however, Lois couldn't resist making one more snarky comment. "I can't promise I won't kick that farm boy's ass as soon as you bring him back to Smallville, though! Nobody breaks my cousin's heart and gets away with it!"

Chloe smiled even wider at that, and though she knew Lois probably wouldn't be able to hear it over the noise in the club, she shot back. "Lois, I would be disappointed if you didn't try!" The blonde reporter aggressively pushed her way towards the back of the club, earning several dirty looks and several verbal obscenities, but thankfully, no violent retaliation, for her trouble. Chloe became very concerned as she saw Clark double over and clutch his chest, apparently in some kind of pain, for almost a minute as soon as he reached the door. Chloe could only hope that her boyfriend wasn't having a heart attack as she moved at an even faster clip towards the back door of the club. Thankfully, whatever pain Clark had been feeling apparently receded after that minute was up, as the former farm boy quickly straightened his posture, stopped touching his chest, and exited the building after those 60 seconds. As luck would have it, this bought Chloe just enough time for her to finally get through the crowd and exit the building just 15 seconds after Clark left the building. After she watched Clark get on his father's bike and begin to slowly drive off, Chloe quickly got in Lois' vehicle, glad that the only parking the crowded club had had left had been in the back, and quickly pulled onto the road, only 3 cars behind Clark. The driver she had cut of quickly gave Chloe the finger and started to spout obscenities at the young reporter, but Chloe didn't even notice, as her focus was entirely on the man on the bike that she could see while she put her head out the window. Chloe Sullivan had finally found Clark Kent after she had looked for him for 2 months! She wasn't about to let him out of her sight again!

**Author's note: I'm sorry it took so long to post this, but summer classes have been keeping me busy and my beta reader has also been busy lately. Given the circumstances, I posted this chapter as quickly as I could. I should also admit that I have been having trouble finding the motivation to continue this story lately because reader interest in Complications seems to have waned somewhat, as evidenced by a lack of reviews lately. Although I realize that I am writing for a fandom whose show has been over for several years now, it is still discouraging that I have not received any reader feedback since chapter 1. So, I guess what I am saying is that I would really appreciate some feedback, even if it is negative. If you dislike the story so far, please let me know what it is you disliked. If you have been enjoying the story so far as it is, please let me know that. I don't want to sound whiny or anything, but I would really appreciate a few reviews now and again. Thank you.**

**-supercode**


	4. Chapter 4

Clark opened the door to his small motel room and sighed as he entered the less-than pristinely clean dwelling space and looked at the small one bed room. "Home sweet home." Clark tried to keep the place, which was all that he could afford since he routinely left most of the contents of his paychecks on the Kents' door step at super-speed every payday, as clean as he could. But that was proving to be difficult since the cleaning staff at this location were not very diligent with their job. As a result, the floors were seldom vacuumed, Clark was lucky if he got clean bed sheets once a week, and the room had a serious mice problem. The Kryptonian supposed he could have bought some supplies to take care of those problems himself, but between his days fighting crime, and his nights working as a bouncer at a dance club whose manager didn't ask too many questions about his age or identity, he was exhausted.

As the young man collapsed onto his bed, he thought back over the last two months. Clark had known he would need to get a job in Metropolis before he had even left Smallville, but he had quickly come to the conclusion that he needed to do more than that shortly after arriving in Metropolis. That first night living in the big city had been a real-eye opener for Clark concerning just how bad crime in this town really was. Within half an hour of entering Metropolis' city limits, from his vantage point on top of his father's bike, Clark had spotted a woman being mugged by a man with a knife in a nearby alleyway, screaming out: "Somebody save me!" Clark had expected one of the numerous motorist around him to react to the desperate woman's cries, but the only response that anyone around the young man gave was to roll their windows up and drive faster. For one second, Clark had attributed the other by- standers reactions to indicate that they were too calloused or jaded to care what happened to the woman being mugged, until he saw the look on one such passing motorist's face. His widened eyes and slightly pale face indicated that he was afraid, and a quick scan of Clark's surrounding indicated that the other people around him were terrified to act, or even call the cops, as well. Clark hadn't been sure at the time why that was, but he knew there had to be something seriously wrong with this city if people were afraid to report a mugging performed in public to the cops. It had barely taken Clark a millisecond to decide what to do, and the young man had quickly pulled his vehicle into a deserted alleyway just out of the public's view and used his super speed to quickly disable the mugger, save the woman in distress, and go back to his own vehicle in just under a second.

During the rest of that first night in Metropolis, Clark had been busy finding a hotel that would allow him to pay the little money he had with him as a down-payment on a room, and which had a manager that wouldn't ask too many questions about his age or identity. The next day had been occupied with two tasks. Finding a job had taken him all of three hours (Clark had been surprised how many jobs in this corrupt city didn't require proof of age or a background check of any kind), after which Clark was given a job as a construction worker, since he already knew a little about building and fixing things from days on the farm. The rest of that day had been spent at the Metropolis Public Library discovering the reason for the city's crime wave, and the fear it put in its citizens. A quick perusal of archived newspapers revealed that one man was behind most of the crime in this city. That man, Morgan Edge, lead a powerful criminal organization known as Intergang. Although this fact was common knowledge in Metropolis, no one had ever been able to prosecute Edge for any of the numerous crimes he was accused of being behind, including numerous bank robberies, drug dealing, prostitution, kidnapping, assault, and several counts of murder. The reasons that Morgan Edge hadn't been convicted were the subject of much speculation by Metropolis' newspapers. Most of the papers in the city had stuck to the official police line that there "just isn't enough evidence to convict Mr. Edge" because the criminal mastermind was too good at what he did to be caught. The Daily Planet, however had been receiving considerable flak from government officials for speculating that individuals in several levels of city government in Metropolis, from ordinary cops to the mayor himself, may be accepting bribes by Mr. Edge to look the other way, or were being blackmailed or threatened to keep quiet. Clark had thought this speculated reason for the crime in Metropolis explained a lot. No wonder nobody in this town had wanted to call the cops when the lady had been mugged. No ordinary citizen could know whether or not they would be reporting an Intergang related crime to a dirty cop that would threaten them, or make them disappear for interfering in Morgan Edge's business. And that had bothered Clark, it had bothered him a lot.

Clark had known that he had come to Metropolis to lie low, not play hero, but the Kents had taught him long ago that looking the other way when injustices where being committed was just as bad as committing a crime yourself. So Clark had reluctantly decided that he would spend a few hours every evening, after his day job was done, to patrol the streets of Metropolis at super speed looking for threats, while stopping every few seconds to listen to a police scanner he had "borrowed" from Metropolis PD. The job had been bigger than Clark had ever imagined. Every night, the dark haired alien found himself being kept busy as he interrupted several crimes, often doing so several minutes before any cops could arrive (in the event that dispatch had even bothered to send a patrol car before the crime had already been foiled). And yet, even as the crime rates in this city plummeted due to his efforts, and the Daily Planet praised the mysterious "Blur", Clark was no closer to discovering just how deep the corruption in the city's government went. Nor had he had any luck linking any of the criminal activity that he was fighting to Morgan Edge, even after the young man had changed jobs, and his schedule, to start fighting crime in the daytime after Intergang had gotten wise to the fact that "the Blur" had mostly made appearances at night. The truth was, Clark had recently admitted to himself, that kind of thing had always been Chloe's department in Smallville. As smart as Clark was, and as good as he had become at finding and preventing crimes in this city, the young man knew he would never be able to match his ex-girlfriend's researching or hacking abilities.

Clark sighed again after Chloe Sullivan entered his thoughts for what felt like the millionth time since he had left Smallville for Metropolis. He had long ago stopped trying to tell himself that he shouldn't still miss the blonde haired girl that he had discovered he was in love with months ago, or that he should stop trying to think about the young reporter he had left behind in Smallville. None of his attempts to talk himself out his feeling for Chloe Sullivan had worked in the slightest, and the young Kryptonian found himself missing his girfrie…ex-girlfriend more every day he was apart from her. And every day, Clark's mind taunted him by reminding him of all the things he had done wrong during his short relationship with the young reporter. Waiting so long to realize and act on, his feelings for Chloe in the first place, not telling her his secret, not telling the young woman what had happened on the awful day he had accidentally killed his unborn sibling, and finally…leaving Chloe behind in Smallville. Intellectually, Clark was able to tell himself that last decision had been the right one, that he was keeping Chloe safe by staying as far away from her as possible, but part of him kept wishing that he had taken his ex up on her offer to come with him to Metropolis. It wasn't that he didn't miss Lana, or Pete, or the Kents, but his feelings for Chloe seemed to be most paramount in his thoughts these days. Besides, after what had happened…Clark was not sure how his adoptive parents would react if he ever came home again after what had happened to Martha's "miracle baby." No. The person that Clark missed the most, the only person that he even dared to hope hadn't given up on him yet as he stared up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to claim him for the few hours he had till morning, and the beginning of his daily patrol, started, was Chloe Sullivan.

….

Chloe Sullivan pulled into a space in the parking lot of the run-down motel complex 30 seconds behind Clark, carefully managing to stay out of sight until her boyfriend had opened the door to his room, stepped inside, and closed room 162 off from the outside world. Chloe shook her head, Clark's chosen residence was even worse than she had imagined it would be. To simply call the motel "run- down and dirty" would be an insult to run-down and dirty motels. The complex in the middle of Suicide Slum, which had graffiti on many of its walls and doors, enough pieces missing from the roof that rain most likely poured into many of the motel rooms on a fairly regular basis, old walls that probably contained asbestos, and garbage all over the parking lot, looked like a miniature slum all by itself. Chloe's somewhat cynical mind couldn't help but think that, if this building were in any other part of town, it would probably have been condemned years ago. But apparently, whoever was in charge of such things in Metropolis had written off "Suicide Slum" as a lost cause, and no longer cared if its buildings were presentable, or even safe for human occupation.

After turning off the engine to her cousin's car, and mentally preparing herself to see Clark again after two months, Chloe got out of the vehicle and approached her boyfriend's motel room. As she stopped in front of room 162 of the hotel room (and Chloe noted the 2 was just barely hanging onto the door by one nail), the blonde cursed herself for not having brought her lock picking kit with her. She had not believed she would need it, or many of her other usual tools of the trade, simply to go clubbing with her cousin. Frustrated, Chloe turned the door handle in what she had thought would be a gesture of futility, and to her surprise, the door actually opened. Apparently, either Clark had forgotten to lock his door, or he just didn't care if anybody broke into his modest dwelling space. As Chloe opened the door all the way, she barely paid attention to just how "modest" Clark's room was, with the holes in its walls, slightly dirty carpets (Clark had been fighting a losing battle with the dirt with a broom and dustpan), and cracks in the mirror next to the door that lead to the room's toilet and shower. All the blonde teen saw was an exhausted looking, apparently sleeping, Clark Kent. Now able to get a closer look at the young alien, who was still wearing his outfit from earlier that night, including the sunglasses, Chloe saw that he looked even worse than she had thought. He didn't looked like death warmed over, he looked like hell. Whatever was on Clark's mind, whatever he was running from, had left its mark on him, as evidenced by his paler complexion, nearly emaciated frame, and a frown that seemed permanently etched onto his face even as he slept. For a moment, Chloe's anger at the young man in front of her was forgotten. Right now, she felt nothing but love and pity for Clark, and a strong desire to bring him home. Taking a deep breath, Chloe composed herself and whispered. "Clark?"

The young reporter, who had thought Clark was still slumbering, was caught off guard by the Kryptonian's immediate response to her voice, as he quickly shot his head and body up into a sitting position on the bed. Clark stared at a gasping Chloe for several seconds, as if trying to decide is she was real or not. Finally, the young man took of his sunglasses, revealing his green eyes (which Chloe noted with a wince were bloodshot from lack of sleep) and spoke. "Chloe, is that really you?" The alien shook his head, as if he was trying to clear a fog from his mind. "No, it can't be you. I must be dreaming about you again. I broke up with you and left you behind in Smallville to protect you…."

Chloe's anger at Clark returned when she heard her boyfriend's words (even though she was glad that Clark still thought of her often enough to dream about her), and she quickly yelled at Clark as she slammed her fist down onto the bed between Clark's feet. "I am very real, Clark! And I told you that this is my life and it wasn't your choice to make whether or not I could put it at risk to help you with whatever shit you are dealing with! But you wouldn't listen, so I've had to spend the last two months trying to find you before I finally spotted you in a night club, of all places! What the hell Clark?! You promised me when our relationship started…you promised me that you wouldn't leave me in the dust again…and then you do this…"

Chloe's anger gave way to tears as she broke down sobbing. Clark reacted by quickly jumping off of the lumpy mattress on his bed and embraced Chloe in his arms, letting her head fall into his chest and putting his head on top of hers before replying in a voice that betrayed both excitement and regret. "You **are **here! I can't believe you're actually here! I'm so sorry, Chloe. I know it wasn't right for me to leave you like that, without telling you why, but I was scared and I didn't know what else to do!"

Chloe tried and failed to maintain a stoic expression. She was glad that Clark had finally acknowledged her presence, but she was still a little mad at him, although the blonde admitted to herself that the simple act of Clark hugging her had seemed to take most of her anger towards him away. 'Damn it!' Chloe thought to herself. 'How does that boy do that?! No matter what he does, I can never seem to stay mad at him for very long!' Trying to put her game face back on, but refusing to pull away from the hug from Clark that felt so good (even if his new beard made the top of her head itch), the junior reporter forced a not very convincing scowl to appear on her face. "You could have trusted me, Clark! I know your parents don't want you to tell me whatever your secret is, but I already know that you have powers from the meteor rocks, so I don't see how whatever it is could be that shocking to me."

Clark pulled away slightly from Chloe. "What do you mean? What makes you think that I have special abilities?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed as she mentally berated herself. 'Damn it, Sullivan! You need to stay mad at him, or he won't know how wrong it was to leave you behind and…' But then the young reporter saw what seemed to be the Kents trademark emotion, guilt, in her boyfriend's eyes, and she instantly came to the conclusion that he already deeply regretted all of the bad things he had done to her. 'On second thought, Clark has probably beaten himself up enough for that already. Fine.' Finally, after several seconds, Chloe answered Clark's question. "It's pretty obvious at this point, Clark!" Chloe then went through her entire thought process that had led her to the conclusion that Clark had special abilities, including his acts of heroism in Smallville and the changing crime rates of Smallville and Metropolis that had occurred since he had left the small town. Clark opened his mouth with a dubious look on his face, the one Chloe had learned meant he was going to try to convince her that what she had just said was wrong, but Miss Sullivan preemptively sank his attempt. "And don't try to tell me that is all just a coincidence! I'm not stupid, Clark! And I would greatly appreciate if you didn't act like I was, okay? I've been looking for you too long for you to treat me like that!"

Clark nodded, noting the angry tone in Chloe's voice, then hesitated for several seconds, as if he was deciding something, and a frown emerged on his face. "Fair enough." The young man sighed. "You're right. I do have special abilities, or 'gifts', as my fam…the Kents, liked to call them. But I didn't get them from the meteor rocks."

Chloe's eyes widened in interest, her anger now completely replaced by fascination. "Okay, I'll bite. Where did you get them from then?"

Clark sighed. "It's a long story."

Chloe shrugged. "We've got time."

Clark nodded. "I know. But I'm just…I'm afraid if I tell you the truth about what I am...that it may change the way you feel about me."

Chloe shook her head emphatically. "I promise you that won't happen. I love you far too much to let you go just because there is something…different about you that gives your…gifts. I mean, it's not like you're from outer space or anything…" Chloe's eyes widened after she saw the stunned expression on Clark's suddenly even paler face, and the young man's own wide eyed look. The yellow haired young woman gasped as the full implications of what Clark's freaked out expression meant began to sink in. Chloe sat down on the bed while trying to compose herself. "Oh." Clark, who was now looking at the floor very intently, reluctantly nodded his head to confirm that Chloe's "wild guess" was accurate after several seconds, causing Chloe, who was still rather stunned by this revelation, to take an involuntary deep breath to further compose herself before she spoke. "Okay. I think you better tell me that long story now."

So Clark told Chloe everything. Almost. About how he had been sent in a spaceship by his biological parents from a dying planet called Krypton as a child, an act which had inadvertently caused the meteor shower in Smallville years ago as some of the remains of Clark's home world where dragged along for the ride, and how he had been told all of this by a scientist named Dr. Swann. He also told Chloe about his not-quite legal adoption by Jonathon and Martha Kent, all of the special abilities he had acquired over the years, and his weakness to both red and green forms of the meteor rocks, which he now referred to as Kryptonite.

It was at this point that Chloe stopped Clark while nodding in understanding. "That makes a whole lot of sense. Now I know why you would trip all over yourself around Lana when she still had the green kryptonite necklace. I always used to think that you were so klutzy around her because you were just so 'in love' with her that…" Seeing Clark blush (an unusual sight given his slightly paler complexion), Chloe changed the subject. "And the red kryptonite. What that makes you do. That would certainly explain the last couple of times that you were acting more weird than usual. That was what Pete drugged you with, wasn't it?" Clark nodded, still blushing. Deciding that Clark had put her through enough hell over the last two months to still deserve a little payback, Chloe decided to make Clark squirm a little more. "And x-ray vision, huh? Remind me to buy some lead-lined underwear. I wouldn't want you to fry me with that heat vision of yours." The blonde reporter said all of this with an amused smirk, now realizing just what had been going on last time she had taken her top off in front of Clark and his eyes had glowed a little before he had ended that particular activity. In truth, the x-ray vision didn't bother her all that much…as long as Clark only used it to look at her, not that she would tell him that. But she was enjoying watching Clark squirm far more than she should.

Clark's eye widened as he shook his head wildly and stuttered. "I would never…I wouldn't use my x-ray ability to violate anyone's privacy. Except that one time that happened accidentally before I could control my abilities, or when I was under the influence of red k. I swear I…"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Relax boy scout. I believe you. Just out of curiosity though, did you ever...even when you weren't in your right mind…did you ever use your x-ray vision to sneak a peek under my clothes?"

Clark hesitated for a second, blushing even harder than before, then nodded. "Yes. Once the first time I was on red k…"Clark purposefully left out that he had been scoping out Lana at the time as well. "And several times the second time that happened, when Pete drugged me while he was under the influence of the parasite."

Chloe nibbled her lip thoughtfully. "Huh. Okay. I guess I can't blame you for any of that, since you weren't in your right mind at the time. And given the exact effects that red k has on you, I guess I'm a little bit flattered that you bothered. Tell me something though: Did you enjoy the view?"

Clark gulped, which made Chloe smile. Clark seemed to be acting more like his usual awkward self after spending just a few minutes around her, and the young reporter took that as a good sign as her boyfriend stammered out. "Um…yeah. Of course."

Chloe smiled in a flirtatious manner. "That was definitely the right answer, Clark."

As if wanting to stop the conversation from continuing in an awkward direction, Clark changed the subject. "Right. Anyway. I think it's only fair that I should tell you why I left Smallville as well." Evidently seeing that Chloe was looking at him with widened eyes that indicated she was now playing close attention to what he was saying, Clark interrupted his own thought. "You know something, Chloe? You don't seemed all that freaked out by all of this. Are you sure you're okay with me being…not from around here!?"

Chloe smirked at the way Clark referred to his status as an alien and mentally noted that her boyfriend did not like being referred to as an "alien." "Well, I'm not going to lie. That news did surprise me quite a bit, which is why I was so shocked earlier. But…"Chloe gave Clark the look that she reserved only for him, a look which conveyed the extent of her love and trust in him. "I love you, Clark. Because, whatever world you may be from…you are a good person. Your selfless acts of heroism in both Metropolis and Smallville, as well as how well you treated me before you left Smallville, confirm that. Besides…" Chloe leered at Clark in a playful manner while she teased the young man. "It's kind of cool that I have an alien with superpowers for a boyfriend! And you clean up pretty good for an E.T.! You definitely aren't little and green, that's for sure!" Clark blushed as Chloe whispered. "You are…anatomically correct under those clothes, right? I mean, you look completely human. I'm just asking in case there is anything I'll need to prepare myself for later…"

Clark gulped again and shook his head. "No…everything's normal in that department!"

Chloe smiled. "Good." Then the young woman's expression quickly became a frown. " But rest assured, I'm still pretty pissed that you left me in Smallville like that, so you won't be getting any anytime soon, and I haven't forgotten that you were about to tell me why you left to begin with. So spill."

Clark nodded. Almost glad that Chloe had changed the topic of conversation to something slightly less awkward, even if she was still mad at him. "I understand. You have every right to be mad at me. I'm just glad that your feelings for me haven't changed after I told you where I came from, and that you didn't give up on me when I left Smallville. And as to the answer to your question about why I left …that's another long story. So I guess I better start telling it to you now." Clark then proceeded to tell Chloe about the many ways the "ghost" of his dead father had been trying to manipulate him over the course of the year, including "possessing" him to go to the Kawatche caves one night (he left out the part about the flying) and burn alien symbols into his barn, downloading the Kryptonian language into his brain, leaving him a message that he (apparently) wanted him to conquer the planet, and burning the symbol of the house of El into his chest when Clark tried to defy him. A symbol that would burn him every time Jor-El wanted him to do something. It was at this point that Clark paused his story for a second as he once again began to wonder about the timing of those "burning symbol" events. Most times it happened close to a phone, and wouldn't go away until he dialed the Kent household, only to hang up several seconds after someone answered. Once the burning sensation had occurred near a liquor store that Clark had almost failed to notice was being robbed, because he was so exhausted from leading his double life, and that had stopped after Clark super-sped to stop that theft from occurring. And just tonight, it had happened on his way out of the club, and Clark had a strong suspicion that it had incapacitated him just long enough for Chloe to catch up with him. He decided to ask Chloe about that later. All Clark knew was that he was starting to suspect that Jor-El's true plans for him may be more complicated than he had first thought.

Chloe balled up her hands into fist. Clark's words had made her angry again. But now she wasn't mad at Clark, or Kal-El, as he had told her his Kryptonian name was, but at the young alien's biological father or…at least what was left of him. "Can I see it? The scar, I mean?"

Clark hesitated for a moment, then pulled his shirt off. Allowing Chloe to see the big "S" looking symbol burned into his chest. Chloe winced as she saw the scar that Jor-El had carved into his son's flesh, as well the damage that Clark had apparently done to his own physique by fighting crime almost non-stop and working full time over the last two months. Although Clark still had some muscle on his frame, a lot of the tone of Clark's muscles had started to vanish as the young alien was now on the verge of being unhealthily thin. The blonde reporter ran her right index finger over the symbol. Any other time, she would have enjoyed touching Clark's chest, but right now, she was too angry at Jor-El to think about such things. "Does it hurt?"

Clark shook his head. "Not right now. Only when Jor-El wants me to do something, like I said."

The young alien opened his mouth to ask Chloe about whether she had spotted him in the club and followed him home from there, in order to confirm his suspicion (and his fear, the reason that Clark had not asked Chloe how she found him before) that Jor-El had wanted her to find him, but Chloe interrupted him by voicing a thought of her own. "This isn't right, Clark!" The young woman fumed. "What your biological father has done to you. Threatening you, manipulating you, branding his family crest into your chest! Damn it!" Chloe was yelling now, and Clark had to remind her that it was very late, and people in the other rooms were probably sleeping, before the young reporter calmed down enough to lower her voice. "I don't know how they raise teens on Krypton, but here on Earth, this is abuse! I can understand what you were so afraid of when you left Smallville now. You were afraid of him, weren't you?!" Clark nodded, deciding that was enough truth for Chloe to have right now. Chloe considered something silently, then spoke again. "Well, that settles it. You need to come back to Smallville with me now."

Clark shook his head. "I told you that I couldn't do that. And this city needs me n…"

But Chloe wouldn't even let Clark finish that thought. "Clark, look at me!" Clark reluctantly looked into Chloe's eyes, and was surprised to see a mixture of love and anger in them. "What Jor-El is doing to you…that is not okay! We need to find a way to stop him from hurting you like this! And the most likely place that we could find a place to do that would be in those caves in Smallville. Besides, your parents are worried sick and losing the farm, Pete and Lana keep wondering why you ran off, and they all miss you! I miss you!"

Clark looked away from Chloe's imploring gaze. "I miss you too, Chloe, more than you know. But I need to stay here in Metropolis. I'm helping people here, Chloe. And it's safer…"

Chloe once again cut the farm boy off. "And I think it's very admirable that you are trying to simultaneously protect your loved ones from afar and watch over the people of this city. But look at yourself, Clark! You're burning the candle at both ends! I can't tell just from just looking at you that you haven't been getting enough sleep, you haven't been eating enough, and it's all taking its toll on you! Invulnerable or not, if you keep doing this to yourself, you could…" Chloe took a moment to compose herself. "You could die, Clark!" The young woman stood up to her full height and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And I'm not going to just stand by and watch you kill yourself!" Chloe sighed and added, in a gentler tone of voice as she draped her arms around Clark's neck and behind his back. "Let me help you, Clark! Just this once, let me be the one saving you for a change!"

Clark averted his eyes for a second, then nodded. "Okay. I guess you're right. I'll go with you. But can I get some sleep first? It's been a really long day for me and…"

Chloe smiled, glad that she had finally been able to successfully track down Clark and convince him to come home. "I guess that wouldn't hurt. You do look like you could use some rest. But…" Chloe added in a tone that made it clear she wouldn't leave any room for disagreement on this issue. "I will be sleeping here with you. And I do mean sleeping, Clark. I'm still mad at you after all! I just don't want you to change your mind and run out on me again in the middle of the night! " The young reporter had already told Lois not to wait up for her while she was driving to this motel, and she knew her father wouldn't be back from his business trip for another couple of days, so this sleeping arrangement wouldn't be a problem.

Seeing the downcast look on Clark's face that had been there since she had said she was mad at him, Chloe softened her stance…but only a little. The blonde teen quickly drew her lips toward Clark's, causing a reaction between both teens as they quickly found themselves in an intense lip-lock that lasted almost fifteen seconds. Finally, however, Chloe remembered that she was still supposed to be mad at Clark…no matter how good it felt to finally be able to kiss him again after two months. The young woman tried and failed not to smile as she pulled away from the kiss. "Well, maybe I'm not quite as mad at you as before…" That earned a big grin from Clark, but Chloe was finally able to gather her wits about her enough to be slightly stern with him again. "But that's still all you're getting tonight! And for the love of all that is good and holy…" Chloe quickly ran her hand over Clark's beard. "Shave that thing off first thing in the morning, would you! It's as prickly as a cactus and it just doesn't look like you, you know!?"

Clark laughed and drew Chloe into an embrace while drawing her next to him (more like squishing into him, given the extremely small size of the mattress) onto the bed. "Alright, I'll do that! This thing itches like crazy anyway." Chloe and Clark both laughed at that. "But I think it's time for us to get some sleep. You look almost as tired as I am!"

Chloe yawned, proving her boyfriend's point, and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, Clark. Good night." Chloe closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around Clark's torso. "I love you, Clark Kent."

Chloe felt Clark kiss her forehead before he added. "I love you too, Chloe Sullivan."

Within five minutes, Chloe Sullivan was in dream land.

When she woke up the next morning, Clark was gone.

**I know, I know! Sorry I had to end it there, but there is still much more of this story to come! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but let me know if there is anything I could do to improve me work in the future, if the characters where to OOC in this chapter, etc. I guess what I'm saying is… please review! Your feedback lets me know that people are still interested in my story and helps me to gauge how I am doing as a writer! As always, thanks go out to all of my readers and reviewers. Without you, I would have no reason to post anything on this site, after all! And a big thanks to my beta reader (you know who you are) without whom this story would be a jumbled mess!**

**Until next time, I am…**

**-supercode**

***Beta Reader: (looking under bed, etc.) "Dammit! Where did Clark go off to now?!"***


	5. Chapter 5

Chloe's foot barely left the accelerator during her entire drive back to Smallville. She had almost gotten pulled over several times, but the police radar detector in Lois' vehicle (which Chloe's cousin had illegally purchased from a fellow military brat after she had gotten several speeding tickets) had warned the young reporter in time to slow down every time… before she sped up again. As she drove to the town that she had learned to call home over the past three years, the contents of the letter that Clark had left behind on the pillow beside Chloe repeated themselves through her head. The letter Chloe had found when she woke up that morning and found Clark gone…but his stuff still in the apartment. Basically, the letter had said that Clark had to go on his morning patrol, but he wasn't leaving Metropolis, or his motel room, because he didn't know where else to go. Nevertheless, the big dumb alien (as Chloe had started to refer to Clark in her head) had insisted that he could not return to Smallville, because something had happened two months ago (the letter hadn't been big on details) and it had been made plain to him that he would no longer be welcome in the Kent home. The letter had also stated that Chloe should just forget him…but he knew he couldn't stop her from visiting him again if she wanted to (and Chloe got the feeling that he definitely still wanted her to, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself, otherwise he would have left Metropolis already). However, Clark had made it clear that if Chloe tried to bring anybody from Smallville to see him (especially Jonathon or Martha Kent) or tried to force him to come home somehow (the image of herself knocking Clark out with a large great kryptonite rock and dragging him back to Smallville while he was unconscious had come immediately into anger filled Chloe's mind), he would run far away from both Metropolis and Smallville to a place even she wouldn't be able to find him.

So now Chloe was seriously pissed. She was mad at Clark for leaving her yet again and breaking his promise to come back to Smallville. She was even angrier at the Kent's for whatever it is they had said or done to make feel unwelcome in his own home, regardless of what Clark had done (and knowing Clark, she was sure that he would never have intentionally done something bad enough to merit that kind of dismissal). And the blonde teen was absolutely livid with Jor-El for everything he had done to Clark…and was still doing to him. Before departing from Metropolis in a whirlwind, not even bothering to find new clothes or fix her hair or make up first, Chloe Sullivan had vowed that, whatever it took, she was going to find a way to get rid of that space ghost for good. And this time, the young woman had promised herself, she would make sure that abusive asshole stayed dead. If Clark wouldn't save himself, she would have to do it for him. Only then, Chloe knew, would she be able to convince Clark to come back home.

Unfortunately, Chloe reminded herself just before she pulled the vehicle onto the Kent farm, she didn't know much about Jor-El or the caves, and her knowledge of ancient Kawatche writing was sorely limited, so she would probably have little success if she tried to work out Jor-El's secrets herself. And Clark had made it clear that he would not help Chloe help himself. So Chloe Sullivan knew that she would need to ask the Kents, who presumably knew more about Jor-El and Clark's heritage than she did, for help getting their adopted son back…right after they answered some of her questions.

The junior reporter sighed as she used Lois' review mirror, a makeup case her cousin had left in the car last night, and her hands to fix up her hair and makeup as much as she could on short notice, then got out of her vehicle after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. As furious as she was with the Kent's right now, she knew she needed their help. And that meant that she would have to apologize to them concerning the words she had spoken to them weeks ago. Besides, it wasn't like Chloe enjoyed not being on speaking terms with the Kents, especially Martha, who had been almost like a mother to her when Chloe had first arrived in Smallville in a lot of ways. Right now, Chloe just happened to think she had good reason to be mad at the older couple, even though the young reporter knew she would have to keep her anger hidden. Deciding that now was as good a time as any, Chloe made her way to the Kent's front porch, hesitated for only a second, then knocked.

Chloe was glad that it was Martha Kent, not the slightly more temperamental Jonathon, who answered the door. "Hello…" The redheaded, middle aged woman stopped speaking, as if startled when she saw that it was Chloe at the door. Finally, Mrs. Kent spoke. "Chloe, I didn't expect to see you again after that last…heated conversation you had with me and Jonathon."

Chloe sighed. "I didn't think we would be speaking again this soon, either, Mrs. Kent. But I want you know that I'm sorry for what I said to you about Clark. That was uncalled for and… something has happened, something important. And I need your help."

Martha sighed. "Chloe, I'm glad you finally came here to apologize, and you know that if I could help you with whatever it is you are dealing with, I would. But between losing Clark, and the farm, and the b…" The older woman stopped herself, as if she just remembered that she wasn't supposed to say something, and abruptly said something else. And a little bit of Chloe's anger towards the woman in front of her faded when she noticed that how tired and despondent the deeply etched frown lines on her face and the look in her eyes made her seem. "And a lot of other things, Jonathon and I have our hands full right now and…"

"Who is that at the door?" A voice from inside the house asked, before its owner, Jonathon Kent, walked up beside his wife and saw Chloe. The man nodded curtly at the young reporter. "Miss, Sullivan. I didn't expect I would be seeing you here again."

The young woman noticed that, behind the barely concealed anger at her presence that was in Jonathon Kent's eyes, the man looked just as tired and miserable as Martha did. The look in his and his wife's eyes let Chloe knew that she had to get Clark back soon, for the Kents' sakes, as well her and Clark's. Chloe nodded. "To be honest, I didn't know I would be coming back here this soon, either, but…I'm getting ahead of myself. First I just wanted to apologize to you for what I said the last time I was here. I know you too both care about Clark, and want him to come home just as bad as I do. And that is actually why I'm here now. About Clark."

Jonathon sighed. "Chloe, I do appreciate your apology and concern for our son's wellbeing… but as I've already told you, Martha and I have told you all that we can about Clark. I don't see how we can be of any more help to you."

Chloe was barely able to resist rolling her eyes in annoyance at the same old line that the Kents had tried to feed her before and she decided to just get to the point already. "I found Clark. He's in Metropolis." Chloe saw the complete lack of surprise on Jonathon and Martha's concerned faces. "Which I'm guessing you already knew. And I would even go as far as to conjecture you guessed that much based upon the same logic I used. But I was actually able to track him down to his current address and… Clark told me his secret."

Martha gasped in surprise and excitement while Jonathon was obviously trying to be more level headed about the situation, although his eyes gave away that he was also excited to hear about Clark's whereabouts. "Did you tell him to come home? I'm guessing he's not here since you said he is still in Metropolis."

Chloe sighed and nodded. "He is. I tried to convince him to come back to Smallville with me, but he took off instead. But like I said… I know where he lives now, I just can't bring either of you to him."

"Why not?!" Martha nearly sobbed out as the woman was clearly trying to stop tears from coming out of her eyes. "He's our son! We deserve to see him!"

Chloe nodded, ignoring the angry looks that the Kents were shooting her as she continued speaking. "Because Clark said if I brought anyone from Smallville, he would take off like a flash and go so far away that none of us would ever be able to find him again. And we both know he can do that, don't we, Mr. and Mrs. Kent? I don't know how fast Clark's gifts made him but…."

Jonathan interrupted Chloe with a sigh. "I think you better come inside, Chloe. I think the three of us should have this conversation somewhere more private than our front porch. I know we don't have too many neighbors close by… but you can never be too careful."

Chloe simply nodded and followed Johnathan and Martha Kent as they led her into their home.

….

Over the course of the next hour, Chloe told the Kents everything she had learned since she had started looking for Clark (editing out some of the more embarrassing details), starting with her initial suspicions that Clark could be the mysterious Blur, going through the events of last night, when she had found Clark (who was in bad shape) and he had told her the secret of his Kryptonian origins and about Jor-El's interference in his Clark's life, and ending with her waking up alone the next morning with nothing but Clark's note (which she showed to the Kents, and the contents had made Martha weep when she read the part about Clark not feeling welcome in her home) next to her head. "And the rest of this morning was spent driving here as fast as I can to ask for your help bringing Clark home." Chloe finished. "And you know the rest. But before we get to that, I need to know why it is Clark doesn't feel welcome here anymore." The blonde reporter resisted the urge to glare at the Kents when she made that statement before she added. "Maybe if you tell me why it is Clark doesn't think he can come back, I can find a way to convince him he is wrong and bring him home."

Martha's crying became even louder until Mr. Kent hugged her for a few seconds until the middle aged woman was able to calm down, before he turned to Chloe with a very serious expression on his face, and for the first time Chloe had ever seen this happen, a few tears escaped Johnathon Kent's own eyes before the man wiped them away. "I'm afraid that would be my fault, Chloe." Mr. Kent then went on to tell Chloe Sullivan about the day that Clark had destroyed the spaceship that had brought him to earth with a kryptonite replica of the alien "key" that had allowed Clark to "download" the Kryptonian language into his head in an effort to rid himself of Jor-El's influence…an act which had resulted in the destruction of the Kent family's barn…and the wreck of the Kent's truck when Jonathon and Martha had been in route back to the Kent farm from Lex's wedding to retrieve their son. And when that had happened, the Kent's had lost something very precious. Martha Kent explained that, that time that she and Clark had gotten sick several months ago, Clark and Jonathon had activated his ship with the original key, hoping it would heal his mom and himself. And it had, but the ship had done an even better job at healing Martha than anyone had expected, and had apparently made it possible for her to get pregnant, despite the fact that her doctor had said such a thing was impossible over a decade ago. So, long story short, a little while later, she had discovered that she was pregnant. But unfortunately, Martha explained, while she and Jonathon had been able to survive the wreck of their vehicle that Clark had accidently brought about in his bid to defy Jor-El (which Clark had only told the Kents about after the fact), the baby hadn't been so lucky. Martha Kent broke into sobs once again as she spoke through her tears while running out of the room. "Please excuse me! I need a minute!"

Jonathon Kent, whose eyes were also flooding over with moisture, didn't look to be in much better shape, but he was still able to speak. "I'm sorry, Chloe. Martha still gets very emotional when she talks about that day. I hope you understand…"

Chloe nodded, and wiped a stray tear from her own eye that had escaped as a result of her own sadness after hearing Martha's story, her anger at the Kents all but forgotten as it was buried under her sympathy for the older couple and their lost child. Now Chloe understood why the Kents had been so difficult with her this summer. They were still reeling from the dual loss of both of their children that had occurred that day two months ago. "That's okay, Mr. Kent. And may I just say I am so sorry for your loss."

Jonathon Kent nodded. "Thank you, Chloe." The man sighed. "But I'm afraid there is more to the story. When Clark came to the hospital that day to see Martha and me, the doctor had just told us that the baby didn't survive, and I…" Jonathon visibly tried and failed to hold back a few more tears, which he wiped away from his face while he barely managed to choke back a sob. "I was beside myself. I was so caught up in my grief over what was happening to Martha… and the baby, I wasn't thinking straight. And when Clark told me what he had done to cause the explosion… I became so angry and." Jonathon took a deep breathe to composed himself. "I basically told Clark off for doing something like that without asking me and Martha first and I… more or less blamed Clark for the death of the baby." Chloe was glad that Jonathon had chosen to look down at that moment, as she was unable to suppress a glare that came across her face due to Mr. Kents words, a glare she quickly wiped off her face, knowing there was no use judging the man in front of her, who had been through so much hell over the past two months, especially before he had finished speaking. Jonathon finally looked up after several seconds. "And I know that wasn't fair. What happened… all of it, is Jor-El's fault, when it comes right down to it. I recognize that now, but then…"The man shook his head in regret before continuing. "Shortly after that, from what you, Lana, and Pete told Martha and I, Clark left Smallville." Jonathon sighed once again. "And now, thanks to you, we know where he is, but we still aren't any closer to getting him back. When you told us you found him, I basically considered using green kryptonite to weaken him and drag him back home, but… he would probably just take off again the second the green rock was away from his person."

Chloe nodded sadly. "He probably would. That's why we need to find a way to destroy Jor-El for good. I think that Clark will only be ready to come back once he's free of his biological father."

Jonathon shook his head emphatically. "I'm sorry Chloe, but I think that would be a very bad idea. Look what happened when Clark tried to do that! It was a disaster. And if Clark, with all of his gifts, couldn't pull it off, what makes you think we could do it?!"

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "Because I'm extremely motivated. Rest assured, Mr. Kent, if there is a way to destroy Jor-El, I'll find it, alone if I must."

Jonathon shook his head again. "I know you are very smart, Chloe. That's one of the reasons Martha and I have always liked you. And I know that if there is a way to stop Jor-El for good, you would be able to find it. I'm just afraid that if you pulled it off, it might cause even more problems. If blowing up Clark's ship caused a lot of collateral damage, who's to say that the fallout from destroying what's left of Jor-el wouldn't be even worse, that even more people won't get hurt if you even try? Is that what you want, Chloe?! To have even more lives destroyed because of Clark's struggle with his biological father?! Is that what you think Clark would want?!"

Chloe looked down at the floor. "No, I guess not." The blonde reporter raised her eyes to Mr. Kent's once again and added with a tone of resolve. "But I'm not giving up on Clark! If we can't destroy Jor-El, couldn't we at least find a way to communicate with him? Maybe convince him to let Clark come home back to Smallville?!" Even as she said, Chloe knew it was a long shot, but she figured that, if destroying Jor-El may be too dangerous, she had to explore every other possibility she could to bring Clark home before risking the lives of the denizens of Smallville. "I mean, Jor-El talked to Clark through the cave walls before, right?! Maybe we could use the key to do the same thing!"

Jonathon shook his head. "Martha and I have already tried that, several times, in fact. Both with and without Pete's help." The man sighed while Chloe mentally reminded herself to get in touch with Pete later and tell him what had happened between herself and Clark as well. Mr. Kent resumed speaking. "Every time, we got the same answer. That it was not our destiny to bring Clark home, that burden would have been on my shoulders, but that he had someone else in mind to help bring Clark back to him, and back home to Smallville. Beyond that, Jor-El won't say a word to Martha and me…."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. Like Clark and the Kents, Chloe was beginning to suspect that Jor-El's motivations may have been more labyrinthine than to simply have Clark conquer Earth for him, if the dead alien's recent words to the Kent, and the timing of the burning symbol even (including the one the reporter suspected had occurred in the night club Clark worked at, giving her just enough time to find her boyfriend) were anything to go by. At this point, Chloe Sullivan was almost inclined to believe that Jor-El wanted to use her to bring his wayward son home. And if there was any chance at all that was true, as much as the blonde teen still hated and distrusted the machine abomination that called itself Clark's father…the blonde teen knew she would have to explore that possibility by speaking to Jor-El herself. After all, Chloe had promised herself that she would bring Clark home, no matter what it took. And that was just what she was going to do…even if it meant making a deal with "someone" (and Chloe used that term loosely to describe Jor-El's "ghost") that she truly hated. Having made that decision, Chloe turned her attention back to Mr. and Mrs. Kent after the latter party had returned to the Kent living room. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent, I think I may have just figured out a way we might be able to bring Clark home…" The middle-aged couple looked at the young teen in front of them with interest as she completed speaking her thought before breathing out nervously. "I think you may need to get that alien key out one more time. Jor-El and I need to have a talk."

**Well, sadly, that's the end of that chapter! Sorry about this chapter's short length, but I just couldn't see myself shoehorning the contents of this chapter into this next chapter, which should be much longer. I hope you all understand. **

**In any case, I hope all of you enjoyed the chapter, but please don't hesitate to review to let me know what you really think. Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers for your attention, advice, and encouragement. And a very special thanks goes out to my beta reader, who has been keeping this story from resembling a literary Picasso since I started writing it! The time you have spent editing this story is greatly appreciated. Until next time, as always, I am**

**-supercode**


	6. Chapter 6

The next day…

"Clark, help me!"

The alien futilely reached for the bald man's hand with his outstretched arm from his position in the boat, but he knew it was useless even before the plane that Lex was hanging onto with his other hand shifted in the ocean, causing the private jet to be submerged underwater…dragging Lex down with it. Clark had known he would be unsuccessful at saving Lex, just like the dozen or so other times he had gone through this experience, but that never stopped him from trying. The fact that he's had this nightmare a dozen or so times before just didn't seem to matter because it still felt so real every time it happened.

In reality of course, Clark had never been there when Lex's plan went down at the beginning of the man's honeymoon with Dr. Bryce. He hadn't even heard about that terrible accident until a couple of days after it happened. But when Clark had heard about his friend's disappearance, he had immediately taken action…to little effect. Although Clark had spent the better part of that day running at superspeed along all the coastland in North and South America while using his telescopic and x-ray vision to look for his old friend, he had found no trace of the man whose life he had saved after that bridge incident about 2 years ago. Although the alien had initially resumed this search once a week or so during the first month after Lex went missing, he had only looked again once in the month after that, because Clark was starting to lose hope that what the papers were saying wasn't true, that Lex Luthor was dead.

As usual, Clark woke up from his nightmare after the storm on the sea became worse, and his body was pounded by a torrential downpour of rain mixed with seawater, just as his boat began to tip over into the sea. Or at least, Clark thought it was the imaginary raindrops that woke him. But as he regained consciousness, he noticed that it was something much more real that had woken him from his slumber this time.

Awakening fully from his slumber, Clark noticed that there were several holes in his bed sheets now. And there seemed to be several similar holes in the clothes he had worn to bed that morning as well. Examining the sheets more closely at superspeed, Clark finally recognized that the multiple holes in his bed sheets could only be one thing. Bullet holes. The flattened metal cylindrical objects that Clark was just now noticing were lying all around his body on the bed, confirmed this. Obviously someone had tried to kill him in his sleep, and the feeling which he had mistaken for unusually heavy drops of rain had been bullets. And judging from the large number of bullet holes in his bed sheets and clothes, and the trajectories the bullets would have to have traveled in order to make those holes, multiple people wielding some pretty heavy duty small arms firepower had just tried to kill him. Unfortunately for them, they had picked the wrong person to try to kill, because Clark had been in a bad mood since yesterday.

Clark quickly darted out of bed and knocked out all of the attackers which had gathered around his bed (with a little more force than strictly necessary, meaning they would probably have very big bruises later, but no permanent damage) which he now recognized as the same individuals who had tried to rob a bank the day before, before the Kryptonian had heard about the robbery in progress and quickly taken down the robbers, only slowing down a few times so his superspeed would not hurt anybody in the crowded bank while he incapacitated the armed men. At the time, Clark had thought that the ski mask he had bought months ago in case just such a situation (in which he would have to slow down during his Blur heroics) would be enough to conceal his identity from the bank robbers and civilians alike. Evidently though, he had been wrong about that, and the criminals had somehow gotten out of prison already and tracked him down to try to get their revenge. A plan which, given the fact that they should have already know he was invulnerable due to the number of occasions that the Blur was known to have caught bullets, had been very stupid indeed.

Clark's thoughts about the possible motives of his attackers were cut short by the sound of faint clapping from the other side of his dingy motel room. When Clark turned around to see the source of the clapping he was greeted by an elderly visage that he had never seen in person, but that the alien recognized all too well. The man now standing before Clark Kent was none other than the Metropolis' kingpin of crime himself: Morgan Edge.

Clark was somewhat taken about by the bespectacled man's easy smile and calm demeanor. After all, Clark had just taken down 3 of (what Clark assumed were) the criminal's men, but the man in front of him didn't seemed the slightest bit fazed by that turn of events. In fact, the man seemed to have expected that particular outcome.

Morgan Edge smiled wider. "Impressive. Yes, very, very impressive indeed."

Clark blinked. "I know who you are. What do you want from me, and why did you send these thugs to kill me?"

The elder man shrugged. "Well, you have been causing me and some of my…associates a lot of trouble lately. Business has not been good since you started meddling in my affairs, so you can hardly blame me and my colleagues for being a little… overly enthusiastic in greeting you before I formally introduced myself. As you stated you already knew, I am Morgan Edge and…"

Clark cut the man off in an impatient tone, letting the elder man know he needed to get to the point quickly, or the otherwise levelheaded Clark may just use physical force to remove him from the premises. "Yes, like I said, I already knew that, and I think you already know that I don't like what you do very much. And your men's 'greeting' has certainly not changed that opinion. I would think that you could afford better help then them, by the way. It's clear you weren't trying to actually kill me, so why are you here?"

Mr. Edge smiled wider to hide his nervousness from Clark. "Straight to the point. I like that. Well, first of all, I was here to make sure that you actually were the infamous Blur that has been causing me so many problems recently. I wanted to see if you were man or myth. Clearly, you're both." Clark glared at the crime boss, letting him know that he needed to get to the point soon. "In any case, I think the two of us have gotten off on the wrong foot. Despite what the Daily Planet might say about me. I am a reasonable man, and I don't like to hold grudges. Making things personal just gets in the way of business. And on that note, it's funny you should mention that I can afford better help than the men lying at your feet. You are right, of course. That's why we are talking." Morgan smirked. He knew he didn't have the means to kill the young man in front of him (at least, not at the moment), but that didn't bother him. That kind of obstacle had never stopped him before, when rival crime lords had hired hit men or other specialist that his own people couldn't kill to take him out while he was still establishing his dominance over the crime in Metropolis. In all of those cases, Mr. Edge had been able to bribe, blackmail, or threaten the loved ones of those troublesome individuals until they agreed to work for him instead. The man in front of him, who he knew little about, but (he would find out more about very soon) would be no different. 'If you can't beat them, recruit them.' That was Morgan Edge's philosophy. Whether he knew it or not, the "Blur" had his price. Every man did. The crime boss continued speaking. "I think you will find that working for me would be much more profitable for you than working against me. I can understand the appeal of playing hero, I truly can. I use to read Warrior Angel comics as a kid, after all. But clearly, from the look of this…modest dwelling space, it doesn't really pay the bills, so… I have a job offer for you, Mr.…" The older man paused, giving time for Clark to give his name.

Clark grimaced. "You can call me Kal." Morgan nodded. He had expected Clark to continue using that alias, which he had also used to get a job at a night club that Morgan Edge happened to own (a fact that wasn't common knowledge), although he already knew it wasn't the real name of the man in front of him. That was okay. He would find out "the Blur"'s identity eventually. Clark resumed talking. "And I'm not interested in any job you may have for me, whatever it may be."

Clark, still somewhat sleepy, decided to change out of his bullet ridden shirt into another one, without really thinking about his audience, while Morgan eyed Clark's nearly emaciated frame and the strange scar on his chest with interest. The crime boss noted that, despite the young man's apparent invulnerability, he could obviously be harmed somehow, and he would make it his business to figure out how that could be done in case "the Blur" insisted on continuing to be a nuisance or decided to turn on him later. "That's an interesting scar, Kal. How did you get it?"

Clark looked away from Morgan Edge's gaze, but he couldn't really think of a lie on the spot this early in the morning, so, figuring their wouldn't be a way the crime boss wouldn't be able to use this particular piece of info against him, and still brimming with anger towards Jor-El, Clark replied with a scowl. "Let's just say that my dad's a real bastard. But I'm done talking to you now. In fact, if I didn't know you had half of Metropolis PD in your pocket, I would have you arrested. As it is. I want you and your men to get out of my home, as 'modest' as it may be, or I will throw you out myself."

Morgan Edge nodded as his men began to regain consciousness at Clark's feet, and he told his thugs to get in the car and wait for him outside. After they did so, the bespectacled man looked at Clark one last time, then began to leave the motel room. He paused at the door, however, and looked back at Clark before he left. "This job offer I have for you, Kal… It would make you Midas rich if you did it. Rich enough to disappear to somewhere where your father, or anybody else that may be hunting you down, would never be able to find you while you lived out your days in safety and opulence. Just think it over. I know someone as resourceful as yourself will be able to find me when you change your mind." And without another word, the crime boss closed the motel door behind him.

At the same time, back in Smallville…

Chloe walked calmly toward the Kawatche caves, Kryptonian key in hand while Mr. and Mrs. Kent followed close behind the young woman nervously. The three of them had went over this plan, time and time again over the last 24 hours or so, and after numerous arguments on the subject, Chloe had agreed not to try to kill Jor-El… at least not yet. However, the young woman had insisted that she should be allowed to speak to Clark's biological father herself, because she had a suspicion that the dead alien may be more receptive to her, based on her hunch about Clark's scar burning and the night at the club. The Kents had reluctantly agreed that it was worth a shot, if there was even the possibility that Jor-El might listen to the young reporter more than he had to them, but they had initially wanted to take part in the conversation between Clark's biological father and Chloe. That had been a major point of contention, as Chloe was concerned that, based off of Jor-El's previous behavior around the Kents, the A.I. might not wish to speak with her if the Kents were present. Even so, Jonathon and Martha had insisted on accompanying Chloe on her visit to see Jor-El, both because they wanted to have knowledge of any important interactions between the young woman and the dead alien that concerned their son, and because they wanted to make sure Chloe would be safe while conversing with Jor-El. So in the end, a compromise had been reached. Chloe would insert the key into the wall inside the cave system (which Luthercorp did not have any staff inside of right now because Lionel was too preoccupied with the apparent death of his son to pay too much attention to the caves) and converse with Jor-El alone, but the Kents would observe the conversation and try to intervene if the alien tried to harm her.

Once Chloe had reached the entrance to the caves, she quickly went inside and darted towards the place where she remembered there was a hole in a cave wall, just big enough to fit the key that Chloe was currently holding in her hand (the keyhole had vanished for a time after Clark left for Metropolis, but had recently reappeared on the cave wall). Turning back to the Kents, who were still standing near the caves entrance, the blonde teenage took a deep breath and shared a brief nod with Clark's adoptive parents before she quickly placed the key in the cave wall before she could think too hard about what she was doing. The results were immediate, as Chloe was greeted by a bright light that the junior reporter had to shield her eyes from and a deep booming voice. "Greetings, Chloe Sullivan, native of this planet that your species calls Earth! I have been waiting to speak to you for some time! State your purpose for entering this cave!"

Once the bright light had sufficiently dimmed (but not vanished), Chloe took her hands away from her face and glared at the Kryptonian key and the glowing hole behind it, which Chloe guessed were the sources of the disembodied voice of Jor-El. "My purpose is to find out why you are hurting your own son and to get you to stop doing it so that he can return home! What you are doing to Clark isn't right, and he is suffering because of you! If you keep hurting him like this, he will die! Is that what you want, is your agenda of conquering our world really that important to you!?"

Jor-El was silent for several seconds, as if stunned by Chloe's words, which amazed the Kents somewhat, since nothing they had ever said to the A.I. had ever fazed Clark's biological father. But finally, the A.I. resumed speaking. "That is what you believe my purpose for Kal-El is? To have him conquer your world and rule it like a despot, like General Zod, the one who accidentally destroyed Krypton, tried to do?"

Chloe nodded, confusion evident on her face as she yelled back. "Isn't that what you wanted Clark to do?! 'Rule them with strength!?" That's what Clark said your message for him meant, that you wanted to enslave humans and make this world like a second Krypton!"

Jor-El's voice boomed even louder than before, forcing Chloe and the Kents to cover their ears briefly. "I want no such thing! That is precisely what I wanted Kal-El to prevent! His destiny is not to conquer your world, but to watch over it, to shepherd the people of this world and inspire them to be better than the people of Krypton became. To lead, or 'rule', by example, not force! No, Chloe Sullivan, the path of a despot only leads to destruction, and that is not the destiny that I had planned for my son, the last son of Krypton! Kal-El misinterpreted my message for him. I believe I understand why he tried to rebel against me and run away from me now. I was not clear enough with him about what was expected of him. I should have realized that downloading the Kryptonian alphabet and dictionary into my son's brain would not be enough without providing a proper context in which he could understand my message for him. That is an oversight I will not make again!"

Chloe's confusion, which was matched by the incredulous looks on the Kents' faces, was once again overruled by her anger for Jor-El. "Yeah, there is that… as well as the fact that you tried to force Clark to leave the only people in the world who he loved, and who loved him!" Chloe pointed accusingly at "Jor-El". "You had no right to take him away from us! Smallville is Clark's home, and everyone that he loves, and everyone that loves him, is here. Biological father or not, you have been absent from Clark's life for over a decade, and you had no right to just come back and take him away from the Kents, to take him away from me, much less scar him and try to bully him into obedience! That may be how parenting is done on Krypton, but we don't tolerate that kind of behavior here!" It was at this point that Martha tried to dart into the room, fearful that Jor-El would retaliate violently against Chloe's confrontational words, but Jonathon held her back. He wanted to see how this would play out, and he thought that it might actually make things worse if he or his wife tried to interfere. Surprisingly, Jor-El again hesitated in his reply to the blonde young woman in front of him as she burst into tears, but composed herself again after several seconds. "I love your son, Jor-El, and I don't like to see him suffer. And right now, he is suffering because of you! I know that you wanted to speak to me for some reason, but all I have to say to you is this! Please let Clark go! Let him come home!"

Jor-El's reply was immediate this time. "I cannot. Kal-El's destiny is too important to be set aside." Evidently seeing the angry look on Chloe's face and that she was about to open her mouth to reply, Jor-El added. "However… I believe you are correct about one thing. I do not believe that the approach I used to try to make my son pursue his destiny was the correct one. As you so astutely noted, Chloe Sullivan, my son may be from Krypton, but this is not the home of Kal-El's ancestors. When I attempted to separate Clark from his family unit at about the same age that my father did the same to me, and his father did the same to him, and so on, for generations, and attempted to use the traditional methods to make my disobedient son obey me, I neglected to take into account that Kal-El, or Clark Kent, as you call him was raised here on Earth, and that he has learned the customs of this world. I also neglected to take into account that my son has formed much deeper emotional bonds with humans than most Kryptonian youths were allowed to form with others at his age. On Krypton, the only person we are allowed to form an emotional attachment to is the life mate we select for ourselves, and even then, only when we have reached maturity, which would roughly correspond to when a Kryptonian child had experienced 20 of your Earth years. As such, I was not able to anticipate how much Clark would resist my efforts to separate him from you, the Kents, and Kal-El's other loved ones in this human settlement called 'Smallville.' Even in exile, Clark's thoughts still often dwell on all of you, especially you, Chloe Sullivan. And that is why I believe you can help me."

Chloe scowled. "First of all, why should I help you do anything after you hurt Clark, especially leading him to fulfill some grand destiny you haven't told us too much about? And second, what makes you think that I can convince Clark to come back to Smallville when I couldn't do that before?"

The light from the key glowed a little brighter for several seconds. "Unfortunately, there is not enough time for me to tell you everything that Kal-El's destiny entails. I can only point out that if you want me to help you and the Kents get Clark home, you will have no choice but to trust me. I also give you my word that the moment Clark chooses to come home, I will remove the symbol of his ancestors from him, and I will clarify Kal-El's destiny for him before I help him to achieve it… after he comes back to Smallville." Chloe looked towards the Kents for approval, and they both reluctantly nodded before the blonde reporter turned back to Jor-El, who resumed speaking. "And the reason that I have chosen you to bring my son back should be known to you by now. Of all the people on this world, you seem to have the greatest influence on his actions. Although you failed to keep Kal-El from leaving Smallville, or to bring him home, you nearly succeeded in both attempts, and Kal-El almost did what you asked while both of those events were occurring. In addition, on the day that my son departed for Smallville, your very presence kept Kal-El from going down a much darker path then the one he is on now."

Chloe was about to ask what Jor-El was talking about when she suddenly remember all of the drawers in the Torch office that Clark had been going through the day he had left Smallville, and her mind quickly put that event together with what Clark had told her about kryptonite. Chloe's jaw dropped in shock. "Red kryptonite! Clark was going to use Red kryptonite on the day he left Smallville, presumably to make himself feel better!" Although she couldn't see it, Martha Kent gasped when she hear this, before Chloe completed her thought. "Wow. I always that Clark would have to be on drugs to be on drugs. But I guess he wasn't beyond temptation after all. If I hadn't interrupted Clark when I did, who knows what terrible things Clark might have done while on Red K?"

Jor-El interrupted this line of thinking. "But you did interrupt my son. And your very presence was enough to convince him not to go down that dark path, and instead choose a nobler way, as self-destructive and far short of the destiny I had in mind for him as it was. If you could do that, I am confident that you will be able to bring my son home with my help. I have let my prejudices concerning humans guide me long enough. During my previous visits to Earth, I have seen that your species is capable of great cruelty, and that some of your kind, as well meaning as they are, can hold a Kryptonian back from his destiny. But you have made me realize that the human race is also capable of many great things, and that some of you may actually be able to help me make Kal-El strong enough to pursue his destiny. I believe your cooperation may be indispensable in this regard. Do I have it, Chloe Sullivan?"

Chloe sighed, then nodded her assent. "I will help you bring Clark back to Smallville, but I expect you to tell all of, Clark, the Kents, and myself, more about this grand destiny of Clark's before I help you any further. Just tell me what I have to do. But for the record, I still really don't like you after what you did to Clark."

"Jor-El" glowed bright again, and Chloe once again had to put her hand over her face. "Both your assent and your reservations are noted, Chloe Sullivan. And your terms are acceptable for the time being. But now I must empower you to be my agent, for my son is currently in greater peril than he realizes, and he is not willing to do what is necessary to help himself. So you must save him yourself. Toward this end, I will give you two gifts. The first gift will come from me, and will be temporary, for your human body could not wield such power for long and survive. However, when the time is right, it will be necessary for me to give you this power for a time in order for you to help Kal-El. The second gift will not go into effect until the first one has left you, and it already lies locked within your own cells. However, as a gesture of good will, and in the hopes that you will help my son pursue his destiny in the future, I will unlock it, as well as amplify it, for you now, for aiding my son in this task will be a perilous task on its own, and you will, in all probability, need this second gift in the future. Unfortunately, receiving these gifts will be a painful process for you, and I cannot force you to do so. Do you assent to receiving these gifts at this time?"

Chloe gulped nervously, still looking away from the bright light. "If that's what it takes to bring Clark home, then yes."

"Very well."

Without another word being spoken, a beam was shot out of the cave wall into Chloe Sullivan, bathing the whole cave system in bright light that the Kents had to look away from while Chloe stared at the key, transfixed by the bright light shining from it. Martha Kent tried to run towards the blonde girl whose body was now writhing in pain, but Jonathon held her back once more. The light continued to shine for several more minutes as Chloe Sullivan began to receive Jor-El's "gifts." 

Chloe screamed the whole time.

**I know. I'm evil. Don't worry, there is still quite a bit more to this story. I would also like to point out that I will be using the ideas of a couple of my reviewers at some point in the next few chapters, and then I will give credit where credit is due. I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out, but between school, my new job, and some other things going on in my life, I have been really busy. Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers. I hope you liked this chapter, but please review either way. And many thanks again to my proofreader, without whom a Picasso painting would look orderly compared to the contents of this story. Until next time, I am…**

**supercode**


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